I should have kept my kid at Wilson; college admits are much better than the Big3

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The irony is the woke philosophy that is Wilson parents have raised what they claim to disdain. If only hard working students were accepted at the Ivies - instead of the gamers - looking at you Wilson parents (except those with the Maryland tags!).

You’re not making much sense. Back away from the eggnog.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The irony is the woke philosophy that is Wilson parents have raised what they claim to disdain. If only hard working students were accepted at the Ivies - instead of the gamers - looking at you Wilson parents (except those with the Maryland tags!).

You’re not making much sense. Back away from the eggnog.

Eggnog?

I guess that he has a yoke philosophy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The irony is the woke philosophy that is Wilson parents have raised what they claim to disdain. If only hard working students were accepted at the Ivies - instead of the gamers - looking at you Wilson parents (except those with the Maryland tags!).

You’re not making much sense. Back away from the eggnog.

Eggnog?

I guess that he has a yoke philosophy.

Eggcellent!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The irony is the woke philosophy that is Wilson parents have raised what they claim to disdain. If only hard working students were accepted at the Ivies - instead of the gamers - looking at you Wilson parents (except those with the Maryland tags!).

What are you even trying to say?

[Anonymous]

Not sure who to root for on this thread. Both the Wilson booster parents and the anti-Wilson parents seem nutty.
Maybe all DC area parents are nutty

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow, this thread is like a parody of smug entitled UMC parents. The nerve of those DCPS kids gate-crashing the country club colleges with their inflated grades, gang-infested schools, and terrible teachers! They will never keep up with our cultured sophisticates who've been doing college-level coursework since preschool! How dare they usurp the rightful place just so that they can get the sticker on their car!

And I'm willing to bet that many of you have lawn signs proclaiming "hate has no home here." And college stickers on your Tesla/Volvo/Suburban.

BTW I've studied and taught at the schools where you think your kids think are owed a place simply by virtue of the K-12 tuition dollars you've paid. And I've got news for you: you're wrong.

Not smug, entitled, UMC parents - in DC those parents are the ones sending their kids to Wilson.[i][u]

This thread provides a clear view into the entitled views of rich DC, private school parents, who believe that their wealth alone shows that their kids should be in line in front of Wilson kids for spots at competitive colleges. It is pathetic, gross, and appalling. I would be beyond embarrassed to send my kids to a private school populated by these parents and their children.

They loved me. And now they miss me. But I’m so glad to be free of them.

Former DCPS parent. Kid now in private HS. Maybe like always ends up with like, but I find the parents at private school waaaay more likeable and well-adjusted socially than the Wilson parents. The Wilson parents I know are the most condescending, judgmental, self-righteous lot I’ve ever come across. Morally and academically superior attitude in every way. It’s like they’re still railing against the popular crowd. You think private school parents are nuts about elite college placement? My lord. The private school parents have been much more welcoming and inclusive.

You do you.

Well, if you are anything like the OP, I can see why public school parents might not like you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Everybody at these top colleges gets the same degree whether you purportedly struggled through or breezed through with all A’s. Seems to me the kids at Wilson get the best deal and the Big 3 parents resent it.

Is there a metric somewhere that tracks the long term success of Big 3 vs. Wilson or similar public high school? Not really interested in who is better at writing term papers but post college real world stats.

In my small world there is - I know of no Wilson kids getting hired yet am surrounded by kids from the Big 3 who are pulling 250k and up in their late 20s and early 30s.

My H went to a public HS in Florida, got in as athlete at Brown and he's been making 500k/year for a decade now. I went to public school in a developing country, went to Brown as an URM and got my first job in IB on Wall Street for a big bank. I'm making $218 now working from home 4 days/week as a fed for a fin agency, after making serious $$$ for years. We're in our late 30s.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve taught in public and private and sent my children to both. The good private schools offer a better education to be sure, but kids who are bright and hard working will do well anywhere. They may not start college with the same background information, but this isn’t an either/or situation. Make the choice that is right for your budget and for your family and child, take them to the library/read to them and show them that education is important to you. Two people can start in different places and end up in the same place, and the reverse is true as well. Unless you’re very wealthy, every student will have to prove themselves in school and then again in the real world. I will challenge the idea that having to navigate dysfunction makes for more capable kids in every situation. Some students will thrive in a smaller, more nurturing environment that builds their confidence and would get discouraged in a larger, less-responsive system, but yes, others will develop more assertiveness. I’m suspicious of anyone who is zero-sum about all of this. I have stronger opinions about virtual learning, which I think fails most kids.

Wow! Quite a sensible post. The bottom half of kids at Wilson would no doubt be better off at small, structured private schools but these families generally don’t have the $$$. Life isn’t fair. Instead of bashing public school kids, just be grateful you were able to give your kids a leg up in life. Your kid really isn’t all that special but lucked out in the lottery that is life.

Well, if you believe what’s in this chain, all the kids at Wilson are getting A’s, so it would be very difficult to identify “the bottom half”. Wilson has almost 2000 kids. That’s nearly 500 a class. The fact that a handful get into top colleges does not mean that every kid from Wilson is destined for the Ivy League. It’s funny that people sending kids to private are worried that the public school kids have a leg up. Instead of calling Brown to complain, send your kid to public school!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This thread is fascinating. Some posters seem to have an excessive amount of self-esteem wrapped up in which ‘team’ they’re on. So weird.

+1. Poured myself a cup of coffee this morning and started where I left off yesterday. This thread has been very entertaining.

[Anonymous]

The initial premise of this tread that is horrified that Wilson kids should be qualified or allowed to go to top colleges is clearly provocative. There are so many layers here!
By definition sending kids to elite big 3-5 schools is elitist. It comes with an attitude that those kids are more special and entitled to go to better colleges. The higher cost comes with lots of homework and constant stress to excel - and paid for the ability to cope much better during a global pandemic by having money to throw at the problem and smaller sizes of cherry picked kids to deal with. College admissions are used to nearly all the kids from these schools to get As and Bs. There’s a forced culture of achievement - and grade inflation. The amount of homework and stress aren’t proven to do much that’s really positive for kids. Proportionately these kids will always get into great colleges and do fine in life. Most of the kids are born on third base and think they hit a triple.
Wilson has for generations been “Yale or jail” - a reflection mostly of having higher income and low income families. The kids from higher income families at Wilson are very similar to those at the big 3-5 but the private school parents are so bought into the value of the schools they are paying for, they need to believe those kids won’t be able to cut it in college. Which is ridiculous. Yes many of the parents are just as insufferable as those at privates. But the private parents have chosen an intentionally elitist path. The demographics at Wilson have also changed in the recent 10-15 years and is continuing to change in make up. More and more kids are from higher income families are at Wilson than before. So the numbers applying for top schools and getting in will go up. Grade inflation has become a thing. The W schools in MoCo and the McLean and Fairfax schools have been doing it for while, with about 1/3 of classes getting all A’s.
Just a rant that private school parents can just feel happy with your privilege without kicking down at Wilson.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The initial premise of this tread that is horrified that Wilson kids should be qualified or allowed to go to top colleges is clearly provocative. There are so many layers here!
By definition sending kids to elite big 3-5 schools is elitist. It comes with an attitude that those kids are more special and entitled to go to better colleges. The higher cost comes with lots of homework and constant stress to excel - and paid for the ability to cope much better during a global pandemic by having money to throw at the problem and smaller sizes of cherry picked kids to deal with. College admissions are used to nearly all the kids from these schools to get As and Bs. There’s a forced culture of achievement - and grade inflation. The amount of homework and stress aren’t proven to do much that’s really positive for kids. Proportionately these kids will always get into great colleges and do fine in life. Most of the kids are born on third base and think they hit a triple.
Wilson has for generations been “Yale or jail” - a reflection mostly of having higher income and low income families. The kids from higher income families at Wilson are very similar to those at the big 3-5 but the private school parents are so bought into the value of the schools they are paying for, they need to believe those kids won’t be able to cut it in college. Which is ridiculous. Yes many of the parents are just as insufferable as those at privates. But the private parents have chosen an intentionally elitist path. The demographics at Wilson have also changed in the recent 10-15 years and is continuing to change in make up. More and more kids are from higher income families are at Wilson than before. So the numbers applying for top schools and getting in will go up. Grade inflation has become a thing. The W schools in MoCo and the McLean and Fairfax schools have been doing it for while, with about 1/3 of classes getting all A’s.
Just a rant that private school parents can just feel happy with your privilege without kicking down at Wilson.

Agree with everything here but not all Big 3 Schools are handing out As and Bs, like candy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a troll post. My daughter who went to Wilson is at Yale now. Not a legacy. She certainly works very hard but got all As her first and second semester at Yale. She was not even the valedictorian at Wilson. It was a difficult year for her. Maybe if she went to GDS it would have been easy but she stepped up and handled it just fine. Same for her friends who are at Columbia and Brown. AP exams are not graded by DCPS teachers. They are graded anonymously by AP graders. You have to know your stuff to do well on APs. Wilson is a mixed bag but the top 25% of kids there are very good.

Not top 25%, more like top 10%. Otherwise, your post may be somewhat accurate, but they do, as you pointed out, have a steeper learning curve once they get to college. For the really naturally intelligent ones, like your daughter, they can overcome that in a semester or two. But for those who are getting in for other reasons, you really have to wonder if Ivies are the best places for them. I know a Wilson kid committed to an Ivy for their sport who recently declared they will study something like "bio-medical engineering." Okay. Good luck with that.

My kids are in biomed at Wilson - it is tough. I challenge you to take a Ms. Krafft course!

[Anonymous]

Him what does Ms. Kraft teach? I have a kid at Wilson who is interested in science and could use some tips. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The initial premise of this tread that is horrified that Wilson kids should be qualified or allowed to go to top colleges is clearly provocative. There are so many layers here!
By definition sending kids to elite big 3-5 schools is elitist. It comes with an attitude that those kids are more special and entitled to go to better colleges. The higher cost comes with lots of homework and constant stress to excel - and paid for the ability to cope much better during a global pandemic by having money to throw at the problem and smaller sizes of cherry picked kids to deal with. College admissions are used to nearly all the kids from these schools to get As and Bs. There’s a forced culture of achievement - and grade inflation. The amount of homework and stress aren’t proven to do much that’s really positive for kids. Proportionately these kids will always get into great colleges and do fine in life. Most of the kids are born on third base and think they hit a triple.
Wilson has for generations been “Yale or jail” - a reflection mostly of having higher income and low income families. The kids from higher income families at Wilson are very similar to those at the big 3-5 but the private school parents are so bought into the value of the schools they are paying for, they need to believe those kids won’t be able to cut it in college. Which is ridiculous. Yes many of the parents are just as insufferable as those at privates. But the private parents have chosen an intentionally elitist path. The demographics at Wilson have also changed in the recent 10-15 years and is continuing to change in make up. More and more kids are from higher income families are at Wilson than before. So the numbers applying for top schools and getting in will go up. Grade inflation has become a thing. The W schools in MoCo and the McLean and Fairfax schools have been doing it for while, with about 1/3 of classes getting all A’s.
Just a rant that private school parents can just feel happy with your privilege without kicking down at Wilson.

You lost all credibility in your post when you said that the Big3 have grade inflation. There is marked grade deflation over public and many Bs and Cs are given. The top student at my kid's Big3 last year had a 3.9.

[Anonymous]

This is such a depressing thread on all sides. So disgusting.